This is the largest nature reserve in Vorarlberg — a vast 7,668-hectare wilderness of mountain peaks, alpine pastures and remote valleys where lynx have returned since 2012 and wildcats were confirmed here for the first time in 2022. It's a place for those seeking genuine solitude in the Bregenzerwald mountains.

The landscape stretches from the edge of the Rhine Valley near Götzis up to the summits of Hohe Kugel and Hoher Freschen, taking in the Matona ridge and the entire back section of the Mellental valley. The terrain ranges from gentle wooded hills and beech-fir forests to rugged subalpine meadows and rocky ridgelines. Summer brings flower-strewn meadows and moorland, autumn paints the forests in color, and in winter the high pastures become quiet refuge for capercaillie and black grouse.

How to get there

• Götzis — starting point at the edge of the Rhine Valley, trail leads up towards Hohe Kugel, moderate difficulty
• Laterns or Mellau — alternative approaches from the Mellental valley and Freschen group, more demanding routes higher up

Good to know

• Strictly protected nature reserve — no picking plants, no camping, no unnecessary noise, and no helicopter landings for tourism
• The back of the Mellental valley is one of the few larger areas in Vorarlberg with no technical or tourist infrastructure, only lightly used farm tracks
• Home to protected species including lynx, European wildcat, capercaillie and black grouse — stay on marked trails and keep noise to a minimum

It's here in the Mellental valley that lynx are once again raising cubs in Vorarlberg for the first time since the 19th century — a real conservation success story and proof of just how special this wild corner of the Alps really is.